Demon Vanguard: Avenging Alamut

Abandon all hope, ye who would ride the lightening; darkness shall mantle thy heart, fury shall guide thy hand, and destruction shall rule thy soul.

------------ Maxim of the Storm Riders, Covenant Ⅱ

Once, he was an honorable Knight Templar of the Cronus Holy See. Everyone thought he would serve his tour and retired with a reasonable pension. Destiny, however, had other plans for Alamut.

The story begins ages ago in a time of crisis. Cronus was soon to be under siege by rapidly approaching demonic forces that seemed to appear out of thin air, circumventing all the standard border forts and outposts. Alamut was sent to delay the demon advance long enough to give the people of Cronus time to organize a defense. In short, it was a suicide mission.

Outnumber 5 to 1; Alamut lured the demon vanguard into an ambush on the plains of Icy Land. Though they had the element of surprise, the Storm Riders that made up Admiral Stego's bodyguard put up a fierce resistance. It is said that even the sun hid from the horror on that field. 5000 brave sons of Cronus marched onto that field of death, 50 returned with the bloody head of Admiral Stego on a pike. No demon was spared.

Alamut and his loyal cohorts defied all expectations and were hailed as heroes on their return to Cronus. It was probably the biggest parade the people of Cronus ever held in honor of a decapitated head.

To award his valor, the Duke of Medivh offered to marry his daughter, Lady Fiona Medivh, to Alamut. But Alamut wanted nothing more than to return to his hometown of Sunset County and get married to his childhood sweetheart and fiancée Emma.

The story should have ended here, with the blessed couple leading a happy life ever after. However, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Outraged by Alamut's rejection, Fiona vowed revenge. Alamut was soon dispatched to the borderlands after the wedding.

Fiona took this chance to accuse Emma of concocting and smuggling lethal potions of necromancy and arrested her. After two months of cruel torture, Emma could take no more and signed a false confession. Alamut came home to find Emma dead and her body cast into the wilderness.
The templar lost his mind. No one dared look upon his bloody eyes.

After that, Alamut disappeared. No one knew where he had gone. As time went by, people gradually forgot this gallant templar and his tragic tale.

Seven years later, during a cold winter night, the people in Sunset County were awoken from their slumber by a loud clamor from the center of the county, Sunset Square. They peeked through drawn curtains and saw that the square was ablaze with fire. A group of demon soldiers were standing around a blurred figure in silence. The figure was crouching on his knees, his hands clasped in prayer.

Some whispered, "Shh, it is the old Pontiff."

An icy command cuts through the night air. "Kill him." The order came from a tall knight atop a midnight black steed born of the infernal fires of damnation.

It was Alamut. He held up his sword and pointed it to the sky. "I once was asked to give my life for my people. Betrayal and heartbreak was all I received in return. So be it.Hear me well, people of Cronus. You have sown the wind. You shall reap the whirlwind."

Sunset County vanished from earth in a fire that lasted three days and nights. The only clue investigators could find in the debris was four burned hoof prints set deep into the stone.

Perhaps revenge is not a dish best served cold after all...